& Talent Development

Showcasing Coaching & Talent Development across Auckland February 2016

Photo by www.photosport.co.nz

Coaching

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Welcome to our new Aktive Coaching & Talent Development eMagazine. We will release this twice a year to keep you updated about progress in the coaching and athlete development sector. In this edition we introduce you to some recent developments and highlight a new initiative for 2016.

Introduction

Highlights in this edition include:

• Aktive’s Talent, Leadership, Character (TLC) project gains momentum

• Good Sports train the trainer programme (Good Sports Developers) is underway

• Key highlights from our local Regional Sports Trusts (RSTs) delivery partners

• Pathway To Podium (P2P) providing essential education for young athletes

• Performance Coach Advance programme building capability of talented coaches

• The evolution of a new programme in 2016 – Coach Evolve

“There is little doubt that the training, education and development of coaches is a key factor in the sustainable success of all sporting systems and many of the world’s sporting leaders write about and talk about their commitment to coach development.

The difference is that in New Zealand AKTIVE is actually doing something about it.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked in several national sporting systems and the programmes AKTIVE are delivering in the area of coach training, education and development are outstanding, highly effective and in my view - world leading.”

Wayne Goldsmith International Performance Consultant

Coaching and Talent Development across Auckland is funded by Sport NZ, High Performance Sport NZ, Foundation North and NZCT. We thank them for their support.

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In 2015, Aktive piloted the Talent, Leadership and Character (TLC) secondary school programme. TLC is a framework that uses the power of sport to develop strong, resilient leaders of character that excel in sport, school, and life.

Talent, Leadership & Character (TLC)

Four Auckland secondary schools participated in the pilot programme in 2015 - Mahurangi College, Rutherford College, Onehunga High School and Southern Cross Campus.

Aktive partnered with Dr Ralph Pim to design the TLC programme. TLC is built on 20 yearsofresearchandeffectivepractice by Dr Pim, addressing the issues of how sport can deliver performance improvements, grow young leaders and develop athletes of character. Dr Pim is the former director of competitive sport at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Teachers, coaches, students and whanau have been learning about the power of teamwork and the importance of moral and performance character. They were provided leadership opportunities in the areas of self-respect, self-belief, self-control, self-discipline, andself-confidence.RegularTLClearning sessions delivered by the Aktive TLC leaders connected

“Thank you all for your part in developing TLC at Southern Cross this year. Personally I have enjoyed this first part of our journey and hope we continue to strengthen our students lives through TLC.”Julie Wharton Sports Coordinator, Southern Cross School

Dr Ralph Pim, TLC Programme. Photo taken by Aktive

students to valuable life skills such as motivating and inspiring teammates, putting the team ahead of oneself, persevering duringdifficulttimes,makinggooddecisions under stress, adapting to changes and uncertainty, seeing possibilities in all situations, andfindingcreativewaysto solve problems.

The response to TLC has been overwhelmingly positive from the students, coaches, teachers and principals involved. The development of leadership skills and good character attributes has led to improved performances on the sports ground as well as within the classroom. We look forward to building on this initial success with the four pilot schools in 2016 as well as welcoming Auckland Grammar School, Mt Albert Grammar School, Westlake Boys High School and Long Bay College into the programme.

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Pathway to Podium Programme

Pathway to Podium is a nationwide talent development programme helping emerging athletes and coaches be better prepared for the demands of a life in high performance sport.

What is Pathway to Podium? Launched in April 2014, Pathway to Podium (P2P) is a joint initiative between Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand. With an emphasis on educationP2Poffersemergingathletes holistic support deemed critical for growing resilient, well-rounded athletes. These support services include Athlete Life, Performance Psychology, Nutrition for Sport and Strength and Conditioning. Nationally there are 282 athletes on the programme representing 13 sports. Auckland has the largest complement of athletes, with 89 in the programme.

Programme Delivery During the past 12 months Auckland P2P has delivered 74 individual consultations, 19 programme workshops, 7 guest workshops, and over 500 hours of strength and conditioning support.

“…it was so great to just talk to another person who understands the life of high performance…” P2P Athlete Mentored by Lisa Carrington

The inclusion of guest workshops by professional athletes Marina Erakovic and Terenzo Bozzone, and internationally renowned Performance Consultant Dr Ralph Pim were a highlight of the workshop programme.

“Thank you very much for the session. The learning was invaluable. We are extremely fortunate to have access to this level of education. The organisation of this programme is outstanding” P2P Coach

Ralph Pim Session

The programme has been well received by athletes, parents, and

“I have noticed a huge change in attitude since P2P has started in all aspects of her life, this is the best thing for her” P2P Parent

coachesinitsfirst2years.Manyhave commented on the positive impact it has had on their sport and other areas of their life.

Our partners Underpinning the success of the programme is our network of local partners Auckland Council, AUT Millennium, AUT University, and Unitec. Their support, expertise and collaboration has been instrumental in delivering a high quality programme. Aktive is grateful for their ongoing involvement in P2P.

Marina Erakovic with P2P athletes following a Question and Answer Guest Workshop at AUT Millennium

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“As a consequence of being in the program, I have improved as an athlete overall. My nutrition has improved as I am more educated about my nutritional choices. I also have a more positive outlook on training and competing” P2P Athlete

Looking Ahead With athlete numbers projected to grow, the Auckland hub will continuetoplayasignificantrolein shaping NZ’s future athletes. Aktive is well prepared to meet this challenge. Athletes, parents and coaches can expect to access a diverse range of support through programme workshops, targeted individual consultations and the expertise of guest speakers.

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Workshops and Individual consults delivered

Athletes graduated to High Performance

500 Hours of Strength & Conditioning support

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Athletes currently involved in the Pathway to Podium Programme

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Key Successes

over

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Good Sports

Good Sports is a new initiative designed to create a positive sports environment for children aged 7-13 years old in order to encourage life-long participation.

It is a pilot project being trialled across eight Auckland locations over two years primarily targeting parents. Ensuring Kiwi kids have positive sporting experiences has lasting and wide-ranging benefitstothosechildrenandtheir communities, and parents are the biggest key to that. Led by Aktive, Good Sports is funded by Sport New Zealand, New Zealand Community Trust and Massey University.

Progress to dateTargeted Areas

Good Sports is being piloted in 8 targeted areas. These areas have been selected based on a variety of factors including geographical area, sportsville models and primary school clusters. By

selecting a variety of areas, Good Sports is able to target a wide array of communities from throughout Auckland:

North: Hibiscus Coast & Takapuna Grammar Cluster

Central: Colin Maiden Park & Tamaki Primary School Cluster

West: West Auckland Athletics Clubs & Trust Stadium Zone

South: Bruce Pulman Park & Kolmar (Papatoetoe Sports and Community Charitable Trust)

Good Sports DevelopersIn November 2015, from the sporting communities that Good Sports is initially being piloted in, we recruited 10 sporting

leaders to train as Good Sports Developers. These people were invited to attend the Good Sports Developers course because of their passion for youth and junior sport, their communication and facilitation skills, and because they are highly respected within their communities. By the end of the course, attendees had a deep understanding of the core issues thatinfluenceKiwikids’sportexperiences, including:● Kiwi kids’ basic sporting needs● Adult behaviour(s)● Strategies for engaging

parents, coaches and sport leaders in difficult issues in community sport

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Good Sports continued...

People undertaking the Good Sports Developers course will be trained with the skills and knowledge to inspire, connect and empower the parents, coaches and leaders of sporting communities in order to enable positive sporting experiences for kiwi kids. Following their training, Good Sports Developers will deliver key messages and workshops to the communities in the 8 targeted areas.

To date, discussions with the West Auckland Athletics Clubs and Colin Maiden Park summer sports cluster has led to confirmationthatthesetwoareaswillbeusedfortestingthefirstdelivery from Good Sport Developers.

The West Auckland Athletics Clubs and Colin Maiden Park were selected initially because they had a large number of summer sport communities. Delivery into the other 6 areas will commence from March 2016, after a second Good Sports Developers course has been run.

Public MessagingUtilisingstuff.co.nzandtheAktivewebsite, we are trialling messaging for public consumption through the media which is receiving good traction.

Key Actions for Quarter 3 (Jan-March 2016)● Delivery of the second Good

Sports Developers course.● Development of supporting

resources which will be published on the Aktive website www.aktive.org.nz/Aktive-Lab/Good-Sports

● Further development of key messaging for wider public consumptionthroughstuff.co.nz

“The Good Sports Developers course reiterated to me how kids may be lost to sport forever due to the actions of parents/coaches.”

ParticipantfromthefirstGoodSports Development Course

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The Performance Coach Advance (PCA) programme aims to improve the quality of coaches working with talented pre-elite 15 to 21 year-old athletes.

Performance Coach Advance (PCA)

The focus of the programme is on generic coaching development (for example, coaching process), action learning (learn as you do), and self-development.

Coaches apply to get on the programme with the key requirements for selection being coach potential, the coach’s current coaching role, and the commitment of the coach to self-development. All coaches have to be endorsed by their national sport organisation (NSO) to be considered.

New funding from Sport NZ has allowed dedicated investment into this critical coaching community. To date 16 formal opportunities have been delivered to 48 coaches.

10 of the current cohort have been promoted to national or international coaching positions.

The PCA programme is currently in year two. PCA is receiving international interest from many countries. The year 3 screening and selection process will begin in March. We are delighted with the quality of coaches the PCA programme is attracting and we areconfidentthatourmethodologyunderpinning the programme is providing rich learning and networking opportunities for the participants.

“This was an amazing lecture and it showed how much work I have to do when put under pressure presenting something totally out of my comfort zone also following a structure that was put in place for us to work with. I have taken so much from this session on board and have already put some of the eye contact in place with working with my patients today. I agree that we are all starting to work as a team and support each other” PCA Coach

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Counties Manukau Sport Coaches Club

The CMS Coaches Club was developed by Counties Manukau Sport to support, develop and retain more capable Foundation coaches.

The Coaches Club was established to retain volunteers as coaches through a recognition and rewards programme. This is done by creating a network for coaches to interact with all sporting codes and by providing access to modern coaching resources to improve their coaching skills and enable them to design and deliver effectivepersonalisedcoachingprogrammes.

It has been highly successful with 250 coaches participating in 16 coaching modules last year. The aim for 2016 is to increase the number of participating coaches by 50%.

“Conflict happens in a lot of sports and if not managed properly it could be detrimental to the club. Bring on the next workshop” Coaches Club Member

250Coaches participating in 16 coaching modules last year.

Key Successes

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Sport Auckland Growing Leaders

The Growing Leaders programme provides intermediate students the opportunity to grow leadership potential through coaching sport in their local feeder primary school.

During Term 3 of 2015, Sport Auckland piloted the Growing Leaders programme with Pasadena Intermediate. To complete Growing Leaders the students must engage in three generic coaching sessions. These sessions focus on building a foundation of understanding of what coaching is, delivery techniques and learning how to plan a session. Following the generic sessions the students are then required to complete 1-2 code specificsessions,tomakesuretheyareconfidentindeliveringtheirchosen code.

Twenty students participated. The Pasadena student coaches successfully delivered three basketball coaching sessions at Pt Chevalier Primary School. As a result of the leadership and capability shown by the Pasadena student coaches, the same group of coaches were then trained in basketball umpiring and successfully umpired the local school cluster basketball tournament.

The Growing Leaders programme will roll over into 2016 with a new intake of students. With the leadership and coaching skills the 2015 students have been exposed to, we are hopeful that they will then move into the secondary school coaching programme, Growing Coaches.

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Harbour Sport Coach Support Initiative (CSI)

The Coach Support Initiative (CSI) project develops the leadership and alignment of coaching in North Harbour Schools.

Through CSI, secondary schools receive funding and support to employ a Coaching Leader who becomes the face of coaching at their school. Their role is to grow and develop each coach at their school,aswellasgrowtheprofileand support that these coaches receive. This support includes coach recruitment, development, recognition, induction and communication with coaches. 2015 was a successful year for CSI. Secondary schools in the project invested additional funds of $42,500 into CSI. 1237 coaches were supported with 466 developmentopportunitiesoffered.Of these, 747 coaches received professional development. The direct impact of this has included 7697 athletes receiving improved coaching and the successful recruitment of 197 new coaches. 75 new relationships were developed between CSI secondary schools and primary schools/clubs/organisations.

“Thank you to all the schools involved in the project in 2015 your commitment is making a significant difference to our communities.”

Dave Keetly

Key Successes

197New coaches recruited

1237 Coaches supported in 2015

7697 Total number of athletes receiving improved coaching

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Sport Waitakere Growing Coaches

Growing Coaches is a leadership programme that provides a platform for the development of young coaches in secondary schools.

In the Growing Coaches programme students learn both the art of ‘how to coach’ as well as the technical and tactical aspects of their sport. Students are then provided with the opportunity to apply their coaching knowledge into a practical coaching session.

Many student coaches assist in coaching their school-based team and others are connecting with local primary/intermediate schools. Seven Waitakere secondary schools participated in the programme in 2015, allowing 165 students to participate.

In 2016 more West Auckland secondary schools will deliver the programme and Sport Waitakere are holding a Waitakere Youth Coach Forum for student coaches to learn more about coaching as well as have the opportunity to share and learn from each other.

“The Growing Coaches programme has taught me not to tell my players what to do but guide them to help find the answer”

St Dominic’s College Student Coach

Key Successes

165

7 Secondary Schools participated

Students participated

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Coach Evolve

We are excited to announce Aktive is releasing a new coaching programme in2016-CoachEvolve.Aprogrammedesignedtomakeasignificantchangeincoaching practices that ensures athletes and participants experience a positive and enjoyable environment that helps establish a lifelong passion for sport.

Coach Evolve was developed using insights gleaned from the Performance Coach Advance programme. There has been a realisation that stand alone workshops are not entirely effectiveandaccordinglyanewapproach to teaching and learning has been adopted.

The aim of the programme is to advance the innovation, creativity and performance of Auckland coaches working in the development coaching community.

A strong feature of this programme is the cross-sport interaction and sharing that will allow coaches to discuss experiences, challenges

and learning in a safe and supportive environment. Coach Evolve has an emphasis on “Action Learning Theory” with the aim of coaches being able to apply learning into a practical coaching context.

Key concepts will be presented at a particular workshop, participants will then be supported to apply these concepts at their own coaching sessions which will then be followed up by a forum for the various coaches to share their learning.

Aktive is currently completing the selection process and successful

coacheswillbenotifiedbytheend of January. We expect to have an intake of 50 coaches across Auckland.

Thefirstworkshopwillbefacilitated in early March by Dr Ralph Pim who is an international expert on values based coaching and leadership programmes.

Funding Partners Sponsorship Partners

For more information on Aktive Coaching & Talent Development visit www.aktive.org.nz